BOSTON—Manager Aaron Boone thought it was a straightforward decision. CC Sabathia was 77 pitches deep into his outing after three innings. He committed an error and gave up two runs, whittling the Yankees’ early lead over the Red Sox down to two.
Sabathia was fading, so Boone decided to take him out.
“Once the third became a really tough one for him, too, I just felt like we had to get him out of there at that point,” Boone said.
But following Sabathia’s exit, a lackluster showing from the bullpen doomed the Yankees on Thursday night, as they fell to the Red Sox, 15-7, at Fenway Park in the opener of a critical four-game series.